Abstract
Next-generation cloud radio access networks (C-RANs) are anticipated to provide multi-Gbps data rate transmission and ultra-high bandwidth capacity, which is one of the key performance indicators for future mobile networks. The integral layout of fiber optics and radio network manages the capabilities of the C-RAN, but needs to be optimized in terms of cost, reliability and further scalibility. For C-RAN architectures, Radio over Fiber (RoF) transport-based fronthaul is a promising candidate but the associated issues of distortions due to nonlinear impairments (NLIs) from power amplifier, linear distortions (LDs) due to modulating lasers and high peak to average power ratio (PAPR) of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signals need to be addressed. This work investigates these performance limiting factors and presents a DSP receiver-based solution to mitigate the effects of NLIs, LDs and high PAPR. Simulations are performed by applying a various range of transmission input powers, different quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) formats for the OFDM signal, optimized filtering at the receiver end and varying channel spacing among the optical WDM channels to analyze the performance of the proposed receiver under different conditions. The simulations and theoretical model of the proposed case studies verify that the presented solution for the RoF transport utilize less power, performs better for longer transmission distances, supports higher modulation formats and transports large number of WDM channels in the presence of NLIs and DLs as compared to the conventional RoF approach. With compensation of NLIs and LDs, transmission distance up to 10 km is investigated using 16 WDM channels with aggregate data rate of 100 Gb/s which shows that the proposed receiver can be used for future C-RAN fronthaul networks.